EARLIEST MENTION: NOV 18 in Anniston AL local newspaper (FEMA facility location): http://www.annistonstar.com/news/anniston/officials-say-cdp-trainees-practiced-with-live-toxin-because-of/article_5a525f76-adfb-11e6-9cf2-d31e13130638.html
Then ... no coverage that I can find until a week ago, w/USA TODAY breaking and investigating.
There are two issues:
1) the outrage of this happening, and *not being noticed upon delivery* or for FIVE (5)+ years (redundant checks are SOP; how many people failed?) —> NOT an accident they have it. Therefore, whistleblower?
2) lack of coverage of such a momentous story until past week (including, it seems in alt media): Has anyone seen this FEMA / ricin story before now? It wasn’t posted here that I can see. Shouldn’t it be on Drudge?
USA Today got broke this nationally, as far as I can see, AND to their credit, sleuthed for background info http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/12/15/emergency-responders-mistakenly-exposed-deadly-ricin/95481004/ :
snip: // Neither the CDC nor FEMA would name the vendor that supplied the ricin to the training facility when asked by The Anniston Star, which first revealed the incident, nor to USA TODAY. USA TODAY determined through its reporting the vendor was Toxin Technology in Sarasota, Fla.
Information provided to USA TODAY by officials at Toxin Technology and the FEMA training center conflict in several ways and raise significant questions about how ricin materials were ordered and shipped over the years.
FEMA in its statements has repeatedly said the material mix-up was “due to an error by the supplier” and that the “intended use declaration” forms the training center submitted to the vendor specified the center was seeking “Ricin Chain A.” //
USA snip: // The training center says it submitted order forms asking for a type of ricin extract that is unlikely to cause serious harm. But officials from Toxin Technology, the Florida company that sent nine shipments to the center since 2011, told USA TODAY that its ricin products were all **accurately labeled as “RCA60”** – a scientific name for the whole ricin toxin, which can be deadly.
It’s unclear why training center staff didn’t recognize for years that they were working with a far more dangerous substance. There is no antidote to treat ricin poisoning.
After issuing repeated statements to USA TODAY since Monday solely blaming the vendor, on Thursday FEMA administrator W. Craig Fugate called for the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General to investigate. [heh. yeah.] //
ABC News Dec 16: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/training-center-mistakenly-exposed-students-deadly-ricin-44247537 said USA Today identified the vendor as Toxin Technology of Florida.
NY Daily News Dec 16: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/thousands-responders-exposed-deadly-ricin-training-article-1.2913287
FEMA Center for Domestic Preparedness, COBRA, Anniston, AL
Good work, cyn! Good questions too.
My first instinct is that FEMA is lying and the lab is not.